Baylor College of Medicine

Fast Recovery

Due to Tropical Storm Allison in 2001, Baylor College of Medicine
suffered a significant loss of research data when their below-grade
central chiller plant flooded with more than five feet of water. Trane
technicians were quickly on site to help in the central plant recovery efforts.

Challenge

To avoid a recurrence of the 2001 damage, Baylor applied for a FEMA
(Federal Emergency Management Agency) grant in order to build a
stand-by chiller plant.However, with limited space at the college, the
project initially did not appear to be feasible.

Solution

Baylor asked Hunton Trane, Trane’s representative in the Houston
region, for a solution. Hunton Trane engineers proposed building the
new standby plant using a Trane/TAS Modular Chiller Plant located over
the existing truck dock and parking area. Hunton Trane provided
preliminary engineering and construction costs to submit to FEMA.

Results

Baylor secured the FEMA grant and the project was put out for bids.
Hunton Trane was selected from among the respondents and worked with
Burns, Delatte & McCoy,Inc., consulting engineers. TAS built the
packaged chiller plant in six weeks after receiving the Trane
chillers. Hunton Trane Services then installed the packaged plant over
a single weekend, with chilled water flowing within six weeks. At 5000
tons of cooling capacity, the project is the largest Trane/TAS
packaged central chiller plant ever built for comfort cooling. The new
plant includes new chillers plus condenser water pumps, electric
switchgear and a Trane Tracer Summit™ chiller plant control system.
The new Trane chillers are up to 15 percent more efficient than the
existing chillers, while solving Baylor’s capacity, space, efficiency
and construction cost issues. Baylor now has a standby chiller plant
ready to go in the event of another serious tropical storm or
hurricane.Rock Morille, Senior Director of Facilities Services at
Baylor College of Medicine, said,"The Trane/TAS modular central
plant was the perfect solution for our application. We had limited
space, a confined area for construction and we wanted the most
efficient plant possible." From integrated comfort systems to
systems management and climate controls, Trane ensures that your
building environment is right so you can run your business better.

About Baylor College of Medicine

Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, the only private medical
school in the Greater Southwest, was founded in 1900 and is today an
internationally respected medical and research institution. The
College consistently ranks among the top of the country’s 125 medical
schools. Located in the Texas Medical Center, a 700-acre complex
housing 42 member institutions, BCM has affiliations with seven
teaching hospitals, each with a national and international reputation
for medical excellence.